"Yes!" Lily proclaimed sternly. Her voice didn't waiver but she was shaking slightly, it appeared that her body disagreed with her brain's determination.
"Why do you need to go to Sickle City?"
"My father's there."
"Sickle City is a hotspot, he's probably dead."
"He is not! I know he isn't."
"Right." Handy replied making his way back over to the food and water. He was keeping his axe with him now leaning it against a folding lawn chair that had been set out for him. He cracked his visor up one click to form a very small slit that the straw for his drink could fit through and began to drink from it.
"You're not going to take that off?" Lily questioned which was answered by complete silence.
Chester had returned from the house and took a seat around the bonfire next to Handy, he began to speak slowly but clearly,
"I can understand why you did that, although I don't think it was very appropriate."
"I don't care."
"I assumed as much, and of course there's nothing physically I can do about it but you seem like a man with a code yes? You've committed a crime in my village, wouldn't you say I'm owed something?"
"What do you want?"
"Take Lily to Sickle City."
Lily was visibly surprised by this declaration, before she could speak up Handy began,
"Why do you care about whether she makes it there or not?"
"Lily wasn't originally a member of this town before the Outbreak, we found her on an expedition in a clinic a little ways outside of Sickle City sleeping on a gurney. We were braver then, and more well off so we decided to take her with us and nurse her back to health." He said as he began pouring himself some water.
"She was in the sleep the Diseased were in before they turned violent, as far as I was aware all Comatose turned almost immediately once the Outbreak had started. Once she woke up she rambled about her father and how she needed to find him back in the city, but at that point the city was far too dangerous to even go near."
"Sounds like you just want to pawn her off onto me." Handy retorted.
"That is what I wish to do, if you do wish to 'mass mercy-kill' you'll be going to Sickle City right?"
Handy was still for several seconds before turning slowly to Lily who had been sitting patiently waiting for her turn. "You'll probably die."
"I'm prepared for that."
"Your Dad probably wouldn't want that."
"He said himself I need to find him, it came to me in a dream."
"Mhm," Handy mumbled staring into the fire, his helmet reflected the flames creating an image of a world of beings of pure light dancing in pure darkness. The silence was filled with patient tension, not too tense but absolutely present while Lily waited for his answer.
"We won't be going straight to Sickle City."
"Why not?" She whined.
"Because I said so."
"Fine. Where do we need to stop?"
"Two places, a zoo and a hotel."
"I don't think the pandas are still alive."
"We're not going to see the pandas."
"And the hotel?"
"Because I want to. Stop asking questions."
"Alright that's fine."
"We leave at dawn."
Chester chided in, "Since you agreed to take her you can take her portion of rations with you if you wish."
Handy nodded in response as he walked back to his rucksack, picking it up and walking back down the road out of sight. Lily was in a slight state of shock and excitement, the reality of being able to finally try and go find her father was overwhelming. She went to her house that had been allotted to her after the previous resident died and laid down staring at the ceiling practically vibrating in joy. She had no need to pack, she always kept her belongings together in case she ever got the chance. An exctatic level of happiness was causing her to have trouble sleeping, and she hoped it would waver soon allowing her to wake up on time.
Her joy didn't waver which caused her to wake up late. She didn't have a clock but clearly it was past dawn as the sun was beaming through her window. She jumped to her feet, regret and fear washing over her as the idea of being left behind becomes a realistic outcome to this short lived adventure.
Bursting through the front door she was met with Handy aggressively tapping his foot in the very same lawn chair he was in the night before. He rose quickly and stomped toward Lily clearly agitated.
"You're late." He stated flatly pivoting on his heel and making his way up the road.
"Are you mad at me?"
"No."
"Communication is important in every relationship."
"Stop speaking."
They continued down the road onto the vacant highway. The corpses of abandoned cars littered the road as they continued, projecting an air of apocalypse that was a constant reminder of the world they were living in.
There were very few Diseased scattered around the road, they usually stayed in tight groups but occasionally one would be left behind. For some reason sometimes they would just freeze, standing completely still in place hyper fixated on an objective that didn't exist until some form of prey would enter their line of sight or earshot and send them into a hunt. Handy dispatched them easily, a simple sidestep and well placed axe swing was all it took for decapitated heads to create a trail marking their travels.
They had now been walking for three days straight. At this point Lily was hobbling hardly able to straighten her legs. She nearly collapsed until Handy abruptly stopped at an overpass with a gap between the northbound and southbound highways with a little divot that lead to a ledge where the support beams met the road.
"We're camping here for a few days."
"Why? I can keep going."
"It's not for you I'm going to search the area."
"You've got a bad attitude Handy."
He didn't reply. Instead he simply jumped down to the ledge below, kneeled down a little and hopped to the other side of the overpass. For Lily's 5'1 worn out body that jump was impossible but for Handy's 6'5 frame it was hardly a leap.
Lily struggled to hop down to the ledge due to her achy body, "Are we going to be safe here? What if a Diseased comes by and sees us."
"They aren't smart enough to look down. You won't see me in the morning but I'll return."
Lily couldn't even respond to what he said. As soon as she landed on the ledge and sat down the fatigue over took her completely, and she fell into a deep sleep.